Strained silicon is generally understood as a layer of silicon wherein the silicon atoms have been stretched beyond their normal interatomic distance. There are various forms of silicon that may be deposited on a substrate. These include amorphous silicon, microcrystalline silicon, and epitaxial silicon. The term “epitaxial” refers to the deposition of a crystalline silicon-containing material on a substrate such that the deposited layer follows the lattice constant of the substrate. Epitaxial growth of silicon directly on crystalline silicon is regarded as homo-epitaxy, wherein the epitaxially grown layer is lattice matched with the template and has no strain. Therefore, in order to apply strain, the template and the epitaxial film should not be lattice matched. Epitaxial deposition is heterotaxial if the lattice constant of the deposited layer is different from that of the substrate. Low temperature epitaxy of silicon using molecular beam epitaxy and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition has been reported. Silicon can be deposited over a substrate or buffer layer of silicon germanium in order to stretch the links between deposited silicon atoms. The increased distance between silicon atoms may facilitate electron mobility, resulting in better performance of electrical or electro-optical components using this technology.